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Tuesday, July 6, 2010

I was reading this article on graciemag.com about how Ronis Gracie is the "Next Big Gracie." What I thought was great was the fact that they had a big write up about him and he was defeated in both his divisions by our guys.

Gracie fought in his division and the absolute. In his division he picked off each opponent one by one, strategically and systematically working his way to the final. By the time he got there he’d already won six fights. His final match was with Jordon Schultz from Alliance. Schultz, who won the 2010 Pan, was also working his way through the division, showing his technical expertise and proving his worth to the world, yet again.

Gracie had heard about Schultz and was looking forward to having an opportunity to fight him. His wish was granted. As the two faced off in the divisional final, it was apparent that this was not only going to be a battle of skill and expertise, but one of will as well.

The match began with Gracie pulling guard. He was able to sweep Schultz and go to mount. Schultz escaped, but Gracie took his back and got a choke on him. What came next was completely unexpected. “I don’t know how it happened,” Gracie said, “But I lost the grip on his collar. He turned and came into my guard again.”

Dismayed, Gracie said, “I was six points ahead. I had the fight in my hands. I guess I slowed my speed down. He tried to pass, so I turned, but I left my arm out and he got it.” Schultz locked in the arm bar and submitted a surprised and very disappointed Gracie with a little over a minute left in the match. As he walked off the mats with his head down, the only words heard were, “I can’t believe it.”

Ronis didn’t have too much time to ponder the situation before he had to get ready for the absolute. He needed to pull it together and get his head back in the game. His first two matches went as planned, winning one by submission and one by points. In his third match he faced Alec Baulding of Alliance. Gracie knew he was a tough competitor and that he had to play a flawless game.

At the start of the match, Gracie pulled guard, just like he did with Schultz. This time, though, he says he made the mistake of letting Baulding put him in a bad position. Gracie says he couldn’t move much and time was passing. “I had to do something,” he said, “And right then he passed my guard. When he tried to mount, I recovered.” Gracie swept Baulding, but he was still losing on points. He only had 40 seconds left in the match and tried to set up a choke, but the match ended, giving Gracie a bronze medal for his efforts.

Gracie said that Baulding had a very good top game. “He didn’t make any mistakes,” Gracie said, “And I let him have positions I shouldn’t have. I would like to fight him again.” Gracie says he’s going to keep training hard all year, so next year he doesn’t make any mistakes.